Recology Sees a World Without Waste

What it Means to Work for An Employee Owned Company

You’ll notice that many of our newsletters and printed materials say something along the lines of, “Proudly Employee Owned,” or “100% Employee Owned.” And it’s true, we are entirely employee owned; it’s a part of our culture and part of our benefits package. Not only does employee ownership drive our employees’ stock value but it also drives company morale, helping us to maintain positive relationships with customers and coworkers.

Back in 1986 we established the Recology Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP), which serves as a supplemental retirement plan and offers part-ownership to eligible employees. The plan is, and will always be, fully funded by Recology. Thus employee donations are not accepted as contributions.

Although the ESOP plays a large role in the way we do business, there are two parts to employee ownership at Recology – the financial benefit of having a supplemental retirement account, and the team environment that accompanies being a part-owner.

In our case, there really is no “I” in team, as the only real investment we can make is in our people. Recology’s financial successes are completely dependent on how successful we are as a whole. Since employees can’t technically invest any of their own money into the company (in the traditional sense), we invest our time and hard work to make sure that everyone wins. Hence, sorters, mechanics, and office workers alike are able to plan for retirement and sustain comfortable lifestyles with the help of our ESOP.

Employee ownership is the future of our company; it’s the fuel that keeps Recology running every day. The motivation of Recology’s employee owners is a testament to our commitment to each other and our success.